Emery board



May 9y 1967 C. s. @mm2 3,318,318

EMERY BOARD Filed March 13, 1964 I N VENTOR.

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United States Patent O 3,318,318 EMERY BOARD Carl S. Gewirz, 5020 Garfield St. NW., Washington, D.C. 20016 Filed Mar. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 351,640 Claims. (Cl. 132-76.4)

This invention pertains to manicuring Iimplements and, in particular, to devices commonly known as enemy boards which normally have a pair of abrasive surfaces for filing or abrading finger nails.

Finger nails are filed by drawing them along the longitudinal side edges of the emery boards and, as a result, the emery boards wear out principally along such edges, leaving the central portion relatively new or unused. After the working areas, that is, the edges have worn smooth, the emery board is discarded.

Hence, this invention contemplates an emery board which may be easily broken to form new working areas, that is, new edges from the relatively unused centr-al portion; thus, effectively doubling the life of each emery board.

The conventional emery board is stiff and narrow, thereby making it exceedingly difficult to break longitudinally. Therefore, an object of this linvention is to provide a manicuring implement of the emery board type having a weakened area throughout the central portion of its abrasive surfaces to permit the facile separation of the implement into two or more parts and thereby expose new edges for use.

Another object is to provide an emery board type manicuring implement which may be easily broken into two or more parts to expose new edges for use, wherein such edges will have a minimum 4amount of projections to obstruct their use.

Other objects and -advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l .is a perspective view of the invention with -a companion implement in dotted line shown in juxtaposition as it might appear during the manufacturing process;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional View taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, with a pair of cutting blades adapted to make a line of spaced slits or openings in the implement;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the invention after it has been divided along the line of openings;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4 4 of FIGURE 1 with the invention in the process of being divided along its longitudinal axis;

FIGURE 5 is `an enlarged perspective View showing the invention partially in section with parts broken away and in association with 4a finger in normal position of use relative thereto;

FIGURE 6 is the upper half of the invention shown in FIGURE 5 after it has been separated from the lower half, with a finger applied to the previously unused br-asive area; and

FIGURE 7 is a transverse cross-sectional View of a modified form of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts, the emery board 10, shown :in FIGURES 1 6, comprises an elongated fiat main body portion or core 12 of relatively stiff frangible material, such as wood, paperboard, or the like, having opposed surfaces 14, 16 with rounded ends 18, 20 and side edges 22, 24 tapering from the larger end 18 to the smaller end 20.

Laminated to the surfaces 14, 16 by suitable means, such as adhesive, are paper layers 26, 28 which are coated ice with an appropriate abrasive, for example, emery dust, shown by stippling. The layers 26, 28 are dividedinto two halves by slits 30, 32 extending along the longitudinal axis from the end 18 to the end 20.

Extending inwardly from the surface 14 `along the longitudinal axis in Ialignment with the slit 30 is a line of spaced openings 34 which are relatively narrow in width, taper to a point, and have a triangular longitudinal configuration. The apexes of openings 34 :are located at a -point adjacent to but spaced from the surface 16, las seen in FIGURE 2.

A similar line of spaced openings 36 extend inwardly from the surface 16 along its longitudinal axis in alignment with the slit 32, with the apexes thereof adjacent to but spaced from the surface 14. The openings 36 are offset with respect to the openings 34, as shown in FIG- URES 2 Iand 3, so as to reduce the midsection of the core 12 to a zigzag shaped connecting link 38, or weakened area, capable of being easily broken to separate the emery board 10 into two halves, with a minimum of effort and leaving a minimum of projecting parts of the link 38 to interfere with the use of each new edge thereby formed.

The slits 30, 32 and openings 34, 36 may be formed by any selected cutting elements. Chosen for illustration herein are the knife blades 40, 42 which have a series of triangular shaped teeth 44 alternating with a series of fiat knife edges 46. It is to be noted from FIGURE 2 that the teeth of each blade are aligned with the flat knife edges of the other blade. Upon converging movement of the blades 40, 42 in the direction shown by the arrows in FIGURE 2, the paper layers 26, 28 are first pierced by the teeth 44 which then engage the core 12 and, as the blades continue to converge, the flat knife edges cut through the adjacent portions of the layers 26, 28 between the openings made by the teeth 44 so as to form the continuous slits 30 and 32. The teeth 44 are halted at a point spaced from but adjacent to the opposed surfaces of the core 12.

The modified form of the invention shown in FIGURE 7 corresponds in all respect to the form of FIGURES l-6 with the exception that the paper layers 26, 28 are replaced by a coating 48 of abrasive material, such as emery dust, which is applied directly to the core 12a by suitable means, for example, adhesive.

In use, both forms of the emery board will ultimately become worn smooth along the side edges, leaving an unused central portion 50 throughout the length of the emery board. The emery board will then be grasped on opposite sides of the lines of openings 34, 36 and easily divided into two halves by a snapping movement of the hands. Each half will then have a new edge of unused abrasive for filing the nails, as seen in FIGURE 6.

While a certain preferred embodiment Iand modification has been shown and described, other modifications will become apparent in the l-ight of the disclosure and the invention should not, therefore, be deemed as limited, except insofar as shall appear from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An emery board comprising an elongated fiat main body having an abrading surface with a central portion thereof normally unused, and a weakened area in said body extending longitudinally along said central portion from one end of said body to the other end of said body whereby said body may be broken to expose new edges for use from the normally unused portion.

2. In an elongated manicuring implement having opposed fiat abrasive surfaces with side edge portions for abrading linger nails, the improvement consisting of providing a line of spaced openings extending along the longitudinal Iaxis of said implement from one end thereof to the other end thereof and projecting inwardly from each of said surfaces to a point adjacent to but spaced from the opposed abrasive surface so as to form in 1ongitudinal cross-section a zigzag center portion at which the manicuring implement can be divided into two parts to expose additional side edge portions for use.

3. A manicuring implement comprising an elongated at main body having a pair of opposed abrasive surfaces, one of said surfaces being provided with a first line of spaced openings positioned along the longitudinal axis thereof and extending inwardly to a point spaced from but adjacent to the other surface, said other surface being provided with a second line of spaced openings positioned along the longitudinal axis thereof in an alternating manner with respect to said openings of said first line and extending inwardly to a point spaced from but adjacent to said one surface, said first and second lines of openings extending from one end of said flat main body to the other end thereof.

4. The manicuring implement of claim 3 in which said surfaces comprise abrasive coated laminations having slits aligned with said first and second lines of openings.

5. A manicuring implement comprising an elongated at main body having a pair of opposed abrasive surfaces, one of said surf-aces being provided with a first line of spaced openings positioned substantially along the longitudinal axis thereof and extending inwardly to a point spaced from but adjacent to the other surface, said other surface being provided with a second line of spaced openings positioned substantially Ialong the longitudinal `axis thereof and extending inwardly to a point spaced from but adjacent to said one surface, said lirst and second lines of openings extending from one end of said flat main body to the other end thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,192,733 3/1940 Bader 132-73 2,551,700 5/1951 Pinco 132-756 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT E. MORGAN, Examiner.

G. E. MCNElLL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN EMERY BOARD COMPRISING AN ELONGATED FLAT MAIN BODY HAVING AN ABRADING SURFACE WITH A CENTRAL PORTION THEREOF NORMALLY UNUSED, AND A WEAKENED AREA IN SAID BODY EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG SAID CENTRAL PORTION FROM ONE END OF SAID BODY TO THE OTHER END OF SAID BODY WHEREBY SAID BODY MAY BE BROKEN TO EXPOSE NEW EDGES FOR USE FROM THE NORMALLY UNUSED PORTION. 